Dave Barnes

Dave Barnes is an artist and illustrator who's work uses nostalgic storybook images along with playful colours to create fascinating pieces. His work is not as simple as it might appear and once you look more closely at the images and text he incorporates into his pieces they suddenly seems much less...cute. A boy with an axe, portions of images scribbled out with black or red pen, words suggesting failure, loss, and the cruelty of childhood.

 His illustrations and line drawings are beautiful gestures that remind me a lot of prints which might be part of the reason that I enjoy them so much. I also really like his use of colour- there's a simple yet grungy look about them kind of like finding a bunch of old photographs that have been stuck in an attic or basement trunk for decades.

~ Dave Barnes artistic approach involves the practice of transforming modern concept to reveal nostalgic mood, sometimes refered to as “Oldification”. Recycled elements, faded colours, layered/collaged backgrounds, and sand~papered imagery all play a part in this process, along with the use of bold observational line and memory dissolved Rockwellian imagery. Often disregarding conventional rectangular canvases for manipulated wooden shapes to help emphasize theme and subject, I try to use art as a translation of experience and observation that derives inspiration from environment and memory.

Make sure you check out his website
www.davebarnes.ca